Back from 2011 at the ASL New York Exhbit

I just happened to stumble upon this video of the exhibition I had the chance to participate at the Art Students League of New York back in 2011. The whole exhibition was of students under Bruce Dorfman in the Combined Media, Assemblage and Art in Three Dimensions.

I participated with 'The Aura of Things' piece. This framed several everyday objects and highlighted to show their particular ephemeral beauty.

"...an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (like the halo or aureola irreligious art). The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, all people, or all living things, or all objects whatsoever are said to manifest such an aura. Often it is held to be perceptible, whether spontaneously or with practice..." source

This project came about when I found an old printer destroyed in the reuse box - in 1,000 little pieces. These were about to be thrown out, so luckily we crossed paths on time. After closely observing the particular objects for a while, I noticed how the light interacted with all the different volumes creating intriguing shadows from various directions. Each of the pieces came to life as their auras showed themselves and portrayed their own particular beauty.  

Title: “Aura of Things” 

Inspiration: Everyday objects. 

Medium: Mixed media, illustration board, plywood & homosode base. 

City / Year: New York City, Feb. 2011 

Framed dimensions: 72'' H x 29'' L x 4'' W 

Photography: julibd

quick project- pattern & color blocks

I sometimes find myself repeating this pattern on and on... I wondered why until I understood that this relaxes me. Very simple and effective way to decompress the mind, just let ideas flow and relax. Then again, this is the reason why I do these quick projects.

In this particular one, the words that came to mind when appreciating the outcome were: stamp, rugs, patten & wall mountings... Imagine this on a greater scale, in fabric and woven onto a wall? Ja ja lots of ideas come from one simple sketch and never know what can come from this later on.

~ drawings by julibd ~

quick project- Limón Dulce or Sweet Lemon

Its been a month since I got to Costa Rica for my holidays, and it has been lovely to be able to relax and compare/contrast how different life is here. Not to mention the 20º + weather and constant sunshine and how this is soo different to the scottish one (of course !) ja ja. But this is a great opportunity to really savor and be grateful for our way of life here. 

One thing that I really love from here is that if we fancy orange juice, limón dulce or lemons, we can go out and take it from the tree. It doesn't get better than this (in my opinion). As my vacation is coming to an end, before going back I want to observe my surroundings and record some of the aspects. This is the purpose behind this quick project and hopefully works as inspiration for a new body of work...

ps. Sunshine loves this too ;P
~ photos by julibd ~

  

Recap of my last year of MFA

This last year of my MFA has been very full on in a good way. It was a crash course in pushing artistic ideas forward through the different research methods; building a cohesive and concise body of work, further communication skills to support the concept and the development of the professional practice. All of these aspects came together for our final project and the goal was to put on a professional exhibition. First was the Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show where Ode to Intuición made its debut and The Scottish Glass Society awarded Laura Reid and I the Prize for Best Student of Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show 2013.

-Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show 2013- Ode to Intuición Debut May 2013

A month later for New Designers we traveled down to London to show our work among 3,500 newly graduates from all over the UK’s leading universities. In my experience, New Designers was a great platform that jumpstarted my artistic experience because of its exposure, chance to network with a very specialized crowd and all the opportunities that came from it. I am happy to say that I got awarded the New Designers Contemporary Glass Society Associate Prize and was shortlisted in the final 12 for the New Designer of the Year Award.

Also I was invited by Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections to go to SOFA Chicago this October and Collect London in May 2014 and be represented by her as my agent.

-New Designers 2013- Edinburgh College of Art Stand June 2013

 Shortly after all of that, we traveled back to Edinburgh for Graduation. So it was a great way to close up the MFA experience.

-MFA Glass Graduation Proof ;D- June 2013

All of these are amazing opportunities that otherwise would no have been possible and New Designers was a stepping-stone for greater things, not only in the UK but also internationally. Here are some of the pictures of the exhibits since then:


Stanislav Libenský Award 2013. Prague Gallery of Czech Glass. Royal Summer Palace at Prague Castle. Prague. Czech Republic. September 20th- December 1st:

-Stanislav Libensky Award 2013- Royal SUmmer Palace at Prague Castle September 2013


SoFA Chicago 2013 with Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections, Navy Pier. Chicago. USA.

-SoFA Chicago 2013- Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections stand October 2013

And some more new exciting exhibitions are coming up so I will keep posting and look forward to what new projects are on the horizon. Happy 2014 !! to all and hope this year is even better than the last :D

~ photos by julibd ~ 

New Book: Ode to Intución Series

I have been meaning to show you guys my newly printed book of the Ode to Intuición Series. I am very happy with the outcome because this compilation becomes the principal storyteller of the project and portrays my journey as an artist. It is a personal space in which ideas where proposed without any restrictions and consequently, these became frozen moments that synthesized the preciousness of that intuitive thought. 

Looking back, I am glad I gave myself the time to put this book together because the value of the bound collection of sheets is as precious as the final Ode to Intuición Series. Also it is a great way to communicate my research and demonstrate the essence of the series.

~ photos by julibd ~ 

Degree Show Setup of [Mix&Match] Series

Officially my Degree Show work was handed in on friday and here is the evidence of the setup in stop motion and the behind-the-scenes action. For some more information on the final piece and all its creative process visit: Go Here!

~ photos by julibd ~ 

[Mix&Match] Series Preview

So this is it. My final hand-in for my MFA is due tomorrow and these are some of the images of the [Mix&Match] Series that are going to be part of the written project. The aim of this reflective journal is to communicate most of the research methods used throughout the studio practice and illustrate the creative process from beginning to end of the 21 pieces.

  

The top image shows the visual thinking through the sketches of the non-functional vessels and the second, shows the 'chamán' from the series.

~ photos by julibd ~ 

[ visual thinking ] first week of april

So basically this is me trying to make sense of my thought process throughout my [mix and match] collection. For my final submission, I've been asked to explain what research methods I am using in my practice and I hadn't realized how the Visual Thinking is such a huge part of my artistic process. I am planning on including all these drawings as part of the piece, because I feel these communicate a more playful side to the objects themselves and in the end, communicates the personality of the collection. Hopefully this will encourage engagement, discussion and more creative responses from my audience.  So.. there you go!
~ photos by julibd ~ 

[ in the workshop ] second week of march

The countdown for the Degree Show has officially started now! It is very exciting yet a bit sad how time is running out and my two years of MFA are coming to an end. I wanted to share a bit more of my process and what I am going to be doing these couple of weeks. These are some photos of the works in progress and snapshots of some of the first [ Mix and Match ] nonfunctional vessels. 

{ Visual research and my understanding of the glass piece- Sketch and photo of the Mix and Match component. Alabaster/white color overlay with engraved pattern} Love the thickness and the play of the pattern. This was a gift from Che. He has given me several blanks that he was going to throw away, and I am glad he didn't. I started to saw off into bits and this is where these amazing components came from. 

This pictures above show: - two of the Mix and Match nonfunctional vessels in the inicial 'quick project' stage, - action shot of the saw cutting parts of the mint green blank and - the last one shows all the other new parts from the sawed blanks. I am very excited to start cold working these and playing around to build the other nonfunctional vessels. Laters!
~ photos by julibd ~ 

< Quick Project > Jan. 18th 2013

"Quick Project - Jan. 18th" This mini animated gif shows my thought process in action when playing around with the glass 'rings'. These were engraved this week as part of my component collection. Also I am fascinated with the casted shadow and how it gives a whole new dimension to the simple  engraved pieces.

~ photos by julibd ~ 

< Visual Exploration & Studio Work come together/Part 2>

{Moss from our walk to Arthur's Seat and engraved sample from the "Cut" series}

{organic lettuce at the farmer's market on Castle Road and tiny engraved perfume bottles/ clear glass}

{amazing ceiling at the David H. Koch Theater- Lincoln Center and bottom of engraved manufactured glass bottle}

{nyc lilac, cream and mint lettuce that looks like lace and engraved turquoise blank}

{vibrant pitangas from our graden back in Costa Rica and engraved pattern on decanter}

{double shadow of beer in plastic cup and shaping molten glass on the iron}

"Visual Exploration & Studio Work come together: Part 2 " So the collection continues to grow. I feel this is a very simple yet effective way of communicating my inspiration and showing the links to my studio work. These reference my creative process as an artist and it is easier for the spectator to relate to my world. As you can appreciate, I am drawn to the patterns and textures from my surroundings and how they are translated and appropriated into my work.

~ photos by julibd ~

< Visual Exploration & Studio Work come together >

{sights from our Highland road trip Scotland and my engraved yellow sample also used as a stamp}

{lovely nyc purple lettuce and royal purple perfume bottle/ engraved sample}

{agave plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens of Scotland and workshop samples of my quick projects using green beer bottles}

{old photo from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and some curvy engraved glass pieces}

{London architecture lit at night and a very detailed engraving on clear glass}

"Visual Exploration & Studio Work come together" is a mini exercise for me to organize and understand my creative process a bit better. Also it explains in a quick and easy way, what visual connections I make, collect from my inspiration, experiences, memories, etc. and how all of these come together in my work.

~ photos by julibd ~

< Quick Project > Manufactured glass versus Craft

Ever since I got back from Pilchuck, I tried to practice Michiko Miyake's Quick Project technique. This consists on giving yourself time to do sketches, drawings, collages, pretty much anything, to stimulate the creative process and come up with new ideas without any restrictions from your brain. This is basically trying to avoid sabotage and let your creative side of the brain be the boss.

This is one of the many that I've done since. This is particularly interesting because I am using a bottle mass produced and constructing a new connection to Craft, by engraving unique marks.  

The picture above shows the process from beginning to end. Step 1, 2, 3 & 4.

~ photos by julibd ~

< Inspiration > London

I wanted to share some of my pictures from our trip to London. What an amazing city! I didn't know what to expect, and ended up loving it, can't wait to go back and explore it some more! These ones are of specific buildings/ architecture that caught my eye. Enjoy :D

~ photos by julibd ~

< Cold Working Samples > Red Bubble + Yellow Tumbler

These are some more cold working samples. The blown pieces are trials I made in our HotShop Color Module and then I practiced engraving on them. These were great ways to find out what the different diamond wheels could do and try to create a pattern, giving a little character to each piece. 
Red Bubble: 17 width x 17 height cm. 
Yellow/white Tumbler: 7 width x 9 height cm.
~ photos by julibd ~

< "Protection" Project > details of engraving

Hey there! As promised, here are some more pics of my project from the end of my first year of postgrad. I was inspired by all the different varieties of cactus and started to experiment blowing the glass forms and later engraving on the patterns. As you can see, I had so much fun with this, that the whole project is made up of 50 engraved cacti + flowers!! Each one is unique since no cut can be repeated. What do you think?? Later on I will post pictures of the whole composition!

Also if you could visit my facebook page and support my work by liking it, that would be amazing! All the support is very much appreciated :0) 

-------------------------------------------------> julibd - Art & Glass <--------------------------------------------------------

 thanxs again and see you soon!

{juli

~ photos by julibd ~ 

< Cold Working Samples > Small Tumbler

Hello there! I am very excited because I just finished my first year of postgrad studies! The best thing is that I decided to stay for the two year program so this means that I have had more time for the exploration of new techniques that I had never tried before. Of course, I fell in love with some of the most complicated techniques: glass blowing and glass engraving. These techniques will take me many, many years to master, but I've enjoyed them soooo much, that I am very excited to see where this leads me...

If you have noticed, I haven't posted much since I've been a little busy. But now that I'm officially in vacation, my only task is to photoshop a bunch of pictures to share my progress with you. So here we go!

This is a glass tumbler that was blown by Ingrid (our technician) and Meg (artist in residence). Since this was one of their trial pieces for their new line and didn't end up using, they gave it to me :D It has a lovely shape and I decided to engrave a simple pattern on the bottom. The coolest thing is that since the bottom of the glass is thick, the engraving is mirrored and therefor looks like it multiplied! Making this a very delicate and simple way to add intrest to your new set of tumblers.  

Let me know of you are interested in a set of these, we can make them specially for you and ship them over :0)

~ photos by julibd ~